Death Wish
by BabySealLover
Summary: Light Yagami by day, Cold-blooded Kira by night befriends a kind yet mysterious cafè waitress. Little does he know that she is one of his greatest threats, hiding in plain sight.
1. Prologue: Fate

**Hi. BabySealLover here, with a new fanfic, AGAIN... I'm writing a few others. But I couldn't help myself. This one has been on the table for months now but I just haven't been able to decide where I wanted it to go. However, I now think I'm getting somewhere with it... and I wanted to share the prologue with you! I hope you get some enjoyment out of it. Basically, it was just an idea that I had and couldn't shake. It features an OC, known for now as Sayaka... so if you don't like OCs, it probably isn't the story for you. But if you do - great! I hope that you like mine.**

 **Anyway, let me know what you think if you have time. Hopefully I'll update again soon... since I'm a college student, it can get busy around here...**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note.**

Prologue: Fate

"Can I get you anything else?"

"No, but thank you."

"No problem. Enjoy!"

Sayaka smiled at the older couple sitting at the table in front of her and took a short bow before heading off quickly, notepad in hand, to another table across the room, where a single girl sat quietly in her chair. She took a deep breath as she approached—the café was busy today and keeping her on her toes. "Excuse me," Sayaka said, keeping her cool and reciting her lines perfectly, as she had said them dozens of times before. "What would you like to order today?"

The girl looked at her menu for a few seconds, mumbling to herself as if she was feeling uncomfortable or rushed into making a decision. Definitely the high-stress type. Sayaka was about to open her mouth and suggest a few extra minutes to think about what she wanted, but then the girl glanced up and replied, "I think I'd like a hot coffee. Uh, with just a little bit of milk and two scoops of sugar. And that's it." She didn't smile, but her eyes were warm and alert. The expression she wore eased a little bit of the tension that always built up in Sayaka's chest when she dealt with a customer.

"Coming right up," Sayaka told her, flashing another quick smile before moving onto her next assignment.

About half way across the room she ran into one of her co-workers who currently had two plates and a glass in her hands. This one was still new and hadn't been adjusted to all the chaos just yet. Stopping her and gripping the items gently, Sayaka murmured, "Here, let me get those."

The new girl's eyes widened in surprise and she shook her head swiftly. "Oh—no, I'm fine, it's all right!"

"I'm heading back to the kitchen anyway," Sayaka dismissed with a quick shrug. "Go ahead, you have orders to take care of." The girl seemed hesitant for just a few seconds, but since the number one rule at this joint was to never waste time, she relented and thanked her quickly, letting her take the plates and glass. Then Sayaka, adjusting her position so that she didn't trip or lose the dishes (God forbid), poked her head between the double doors to the kitchen, where several other of her co-workers workers scurried about, cooking and baking and cleaning with a pep in their step. "Hot coffee, milk and two scoops of sugar," she said as she kicked the doors open, confident enough in her memory to not have to stop and look at her notepad. She walked in with the dishes to set them in the sink while one of the few guys on their staff was in the middle of washing another load.

"Coming!" one of the girls, Maru, called in response to her order, and immediately sprang into action making coffee for the most recent guest. Taking orders effectively here was only half the battle. It was also about living up to and preferably exceeding expectations. And every cup had to be 100 percent fresh at this café for Tomone (the boss) to be in a good mood. It was always tough competition, since there were other café establishments in the area threatening to steal this one's thunder. So according to Tomone, all these workers had to stay at least one step ahead. It was inconvenient at times, but those were orders and no one dared mess with the boss.

"You girls keeping them satisfied out there today?" Tomone asked as she stuck a batch of pastries in an oven. Her voice was soft, but also firm and steady. With her small stature and delicate facial features, she certainly didn't look the part of a manager, even at a little café like this. But she was tough in her own right and everyone knew she deserved her position.

Sayaka nodded in response, giving her boss a mock salute. "Yes, ma'am. As always."

"Good girl," Tomone said with a grin. "Make sure to watch your step, though. We wouldn't want a repeat of yesterday if you know what I mean."

Maru, who was in the midst of stirring sugar into a hot cup of coffee, shot Tomone a dark glare. "Boss, please quit teasing!"

"Oh, no," Tomone said, almost as if she were on the brink of laughter, "You're never living that down. I'm holding that one over your head for a while yet." She clapped her one hand down on the counter firmly. "Now, hurry it up, we have customers waiting!"

"Yes, ma'am," Sayaka and Maru both said simultaneously, causing them to look at one another briefly and laugh. Luckily, Tomone had a sense of humor and only smiled and went back to work instead of scolding them for silliness. Maru then came over, her brown eyes glistening, and handed the cup to Sayaka. "Careful, it's hot. Let the customer know I mixed it with extra love today, too, all right, Sayaka?"

She nodded, grinning in return even though the same thing said by someone else might have made her scoff. Maru's giddiness tended to be oddly contagious at both the best and worst of times. "I'll tell her. Thank you."

Heading back out to the dining area, Sayaka approached the customer's table and placed the coffee cup in front of her, careful not to spill it. "Looks like that will be 300 yen. I'll be back with your official bill momentarily."

The girl granted her a tiny smile and a nod before picking up her coffee and taking a sip. The hot drink right out of the brewer probably would have scalded Sayaka's mouth, but this girl didn't seem to mind the heat. Instead, her whole face lit up with happiness as she swallowed. "Wow, this is really good! Thank you!"

"I'll let the one who made it know you enjoyed it so much," Sayaka replied, slightly amused. "I'm sure she will be thrilled."

And she certainly was, as expected. But the amazing thing about Maru was that she was always thrilled about everything. And being appreciated had this way of making her day a festival, even if a thousand other obstacles were in her way. Despite her bubbly nature, Tomone still usually tried to keep her away from the customers due to her clumsy and sometimes forgetful habits. But she usually made up for it with her enthusiasm. The kitchen was her sanctuary and Sayaka was fairly certain that everyone liked it that way. Instead, Sayaka took on the burden of waiting tables most days, along with a small band of two or three other girls. But it wasn't an unbearable set of tasks. Sayaka could play the part.

Oh, could she ever.

"We just had a bunch of people leave and there aren't enough tables to keep people coming in, so I'm switching you over to cleaning off tables for a bit," Tomone said, jabbing her thumb in the direction of the cleaning supplies. Sayaka nodded in agreement, but inside she was sighing. _Seems like there are never quite enough hands to get stuff done around here…_

"Earlier I heard a couple of kids out there talking about Kira," the café's self-proclaimed baking specialist Yori said to Maru as Sayaka walked by. The mention of Kira vaguely caught her attention, and she pretended to be interested in grabbing cloth and anti-bacterial soap while she listened to them talk.

"No!" Maru gasped. "Don't say his name! It freaks me out."

"Then what should I call him?" Yori asked.

"Just don't talk about him at all! I don't want to hear it. At first it was just this weird, crazy thing, but it's serious now. And I want _no_ part of it."

"Oh, come on," Yori said with a laugh. "Doesn't it intrigue you just a little? The danger and the mystery? In any case—I don't watch a lot of news, but apparently he's just been killing criminals. So as long as you haven't been robbing any banks or hiding dead bodies in your car, I think you should be safe."

Maru swatted Yori's arm. "Oh, stop it!" But then they both got a chuckle out of it anyway.

Yori continued, "I'm not even sure I believe it's a real person. I mean, how could anyone cause the deaths of all those criminals in such a short amount of time? Maybe the media's just messing with us."

"Maybe," Maru murmured. "I think we should get Sayaka on the case!"

At that, Sayaka's head shot up and she snatched up the items she needed for swiping tables. "What?"

"True!" Yori said with a smile. "I mean, you've got a better head on your shoulders than the lot of us. Remember how she figured out who was stealing money from us back in the spring?"

As Maru laughed and agreed with enthusiasm, Sayaka simply shook her head and rolled her eyes. "That was entirely different. Even if this 'Kira' is a real person, or group of people for that matter, here's no way I'd have the gall or the brain to track down a serial killer."

"I bet you could," Yori said. "We could all do it together! Waitresses by day, super secret evil-vanquishing heroes by night! It'd be epic. Hey, I bet that would make a great anime, too."

"Right," Sayaka replied, with just a tinge of mock excitement in her tone. "Other than the fact that it's a horrible idea, it's a great idea!"

"That's the spirit," Yori said, pumping her fist.

Maru giggled. "All right, suddenly the prospect of Kira doesn't really scare me as much."

"He shouldn't," Sayaka said, throwing her wash rag over her shoulder. "I'm sure law enforcement will find a way to take care of it. And if not—well, life and liberty as you know it will be over, but at least we'll still have cake and coffee to look forward to." With a shrug at the sound of Yori and Maru's continuous laughter, she added, "I'd better get to work on a few tables before Tomone comes over to yell at me. I'll be back."

She headed back out the kitchen doors and focused in on a few tables in the front of the café that needed cleaning off. Starting with the dishes, she scooped up all the plates and silverware at one of the tables and brought them to the back before returning to wipe down the table surface. Because there were currently no clean and/or available tables for new customers, she had to be quick so that she could start seating people again when they came in.

So she spent a few minutes focusing on the task at hand so that she could get into a rhythm and have the tables cleaned as soon as possible. But it didn't take long before something came along to break her concentration. While Sayaka was in the middle of wiping the excess crumbs off a table near the outside door, a voice from nearby caught her attention.

"Excuse me? Miss? Do you have any tables ready?"

She turned to look up, and saw a young man standing less than a meter away, eyes bright and posture erect. In fact, he was quite handsome. From the uniform he wore, he also appeared to be a high school student who lived not far away. Probably right here in the city if she had to guess. But it was the difference between his polite inquiry and the way he presented himself with such grace and confidence that threw Sayaka for a bit of a loop at first.

But quickly remembering her manners, she put down her wash rag and stood up straight, and then smiled sweetly at him. "Oh—um, of course! In fact, if you could wait for just a moment, I'll get this one right here ready for you. Is that okay?"

The boy nodded in response and smiled back, although she was sure it looked far too automatic to be genuine. "That sounds great! Thank you—" He glanced over and peered briefly at her name tag. "Sayaka."

If asked, Sayaka would tell anyone that she had a nice job. She enjoyed the company of most of the people she worked with, and she still owed Tomone a great debt for all of her kindness this past year. Sayaka didn't mind taking orders from strangers and bringing them drinks and unhealthy food despite her occasional bouts of shyness; she didn't mind counting change or washing dishes. She had a warm bed and a shower and three square meals to look forward to every day. The work shifts were tough at times but not unbearable. Even her skills in Japanese had greatly improved since working at the café full-time since she had to interact with Japanese-speaking customers regularly. She could do this almost every day with hardly any trouble.

But there was something off about this guy that made her wary—something that made her feel like she had to stay on her guard at all times.

And as she got the young boy's table ready, feelings of unease lingered in her stomach even as she smiled and asked him for his order. "I think I'll just have a hot coffee," he said after graciously refusing a menu.

"Okay," Sayaka said with a nod, writing down the order on her notepad. "Would you like any milk? Sugar?"

"No, I just take black." The words fell off his tongue like butter, as if he'd said them as many times a day as Sayaka uttered the words, "What would you like to order today?" Perhaps he ordered the same thing wherever he went.

Nevertheless, she smiled as always and said, "Coming right up," without even batting an eye. Those were Tomone's orders. _Keep smiling, no matter what happens. Unless a customer is an asshole, in which case I'll come help you chase 'em out._

Of course, the high school kid hadn't done anything to deserve that treatment, so there was no reason to complain.

Shaking off any residual discomfort, Sayaka tucked her pen behind her ear and headed off to the kitchen. And as Maru got to work making one more extra special cup of coffee, Sayaka made the quick decision to forget about the feeling altogether. It would only distract her from her work. And generally, she tried to stay in the habit of pushing nuisances aside.

If only she realized that this tiny nuisance was about to turn into something far, far greater.


	2. Chapter 1: Team L

**Hi, people. I was bored so I decided to put up the first official chapter of Death Wish. Believe me, updates that are this frequent won't be regular. Normally, I'm too busy. But I just made it through a disgusting mid-term exam and I was feeling the power. So, here it is. Oh, and in response to reviews:**

 **cheeseandhamburger: Thanks for your review! I see your point. But I didn't think it was that unrealistic. Haven't you ever met someone who just made you uncomfortable or gave you the creeps from the start? I have. I just kind of wanted to imply that Sayaka was a pretty good judge of character and that she felt a little uncomfortable with him. I wouldn't even say "scared" is a word I would use to describe it. But that's just how I see it.**

 **sagewhisker1111: Yeah, I'm typically kinda vague about stuff like that when I write a prologue. Usually my prologues are pretty short, and when I write them, I try not to give away too much. It works better than others at different times, I guess. I'm glad you enjoyed it otherwise, though :) And believe me, there will be plenty more time to learn about Sayaka and who she is as we go! Thank you so much for reviewing.**

 **Anyway... this is the chapter where things actually kind of get started. Oh and just so you know now, I will be messing with a few canon plot lines and devices later on, so please don't get mad at me for it! If you don't like what I do with it, you can obviously feel free to let me know, as long as you aren't mean, that is. But I just wanted to let you know so you aren't surprised when I change a few things for my convenience and sometimes for the fun of it ;)**

 **Thanks for your support and I hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note.**

Team L

Get up—get dressed—eat breakfast—brush teeth—walk to school—sit through classes—walk home—do homework—eat dinner—do more homework—shower—go to bed—repeat. That was the life of Light Yagami. He was the perfect student. The perfect son. He did all that was expected of him and more, and his parents and teachers praised him for it. But he didn't really care; it was just habit.

Everything was out of habit. The life he lived was all just one big game, a game he'd already conquered. It was not only dull—it was isolating, living among family and friends he couldn't even relate to. For years, he'd strolled through life with disinterest, certain that there had to be something else waiting for him—a greater purpose. There had to be another reason he was here on this Earth, other than to simply continue living this meaningless existence.

 _And finally, I've found it._

"I don't really get what your deal is, Light," the Shinigami Ryuk said passively. "I mean, don't get me wrong—you're definitely not what I expected to end up with, and in the best way, but what's the point of all this? Not that I care. As long as it's interesting, I'm along for the ride. But like I said, most people wouldn't be so quick to write names in that Death Note."

Light glanced behind himself at Ryuk. The Shinigami was hovering in the air, held up by gigantic black pair of wings. A pair of beady red eyes stared at him, ever full of mischief and curiosity. And although Light had yet to find a flaw in his master plan (although he was sure he would face plenty of challenges when the time came) he had to admit that being followed around by a phantom that no one else could see was difficult to get used to. Not to mention creepy.

Letting out a sigh, Light made sure he wasn't in hearing distance of any bystanders or passersby before voicing his reply: "And I already explained it to you. I have no reason to hesitate. I know exactly what has to be done."

"Do you, now?" Ryuk challenged with a smirk.

"Of course I do. Even for someone like me, it wasn't easy to accept at first. But somehow I've always known it deep down—this is the only way that any changes will be made toward a brighter future for this world. You said most people wouldn't be so quick to use the Death Note. Well, the answer to that is simple; most people just don't have it in them. Either they're afraid of getting caught or they don't have the stomach to make the necessary sacrifices. But I can't afford to be timid. I'm the only one who has the power to make this happen. If I don't change the world, then who will?"

"And you aren't afraid of getting caught, yourself?" Ryuk asked.

"I won't get caught," Light said, taking out of his backpack the apple he'd saved from lunch and tossing it at Ryuk. He'd learned quickly that feeding the Shinigami apples was the way to make him happy. Maybe it would keep him quiet too.

But even as he chomped down on the juicy piece of fruit, Ryuk didn't shut up. "You're certainly confident. Hope it doesn't backfire on you."

Light rolled his eyes. "I'm not stupid, Ryuk. I know how to protect myself. And I plan on taking all measures needed to do so. You just sit back and wait; I'll keep things interesting for you."

Ryuk wiped off his mouth after devouring the entirety of his apple, including the core. "Well, I sure hope so. I'd better get what I signed up for. Hey, you got any more of those?"

"That was it," Light said, spotting his house down the street. "We're gonna be heading inside, so don't talk to me until we're in my room. It'll be annoying having to listen to you while my mom and sister are around."

The Shinigami grunted in annoyance. "Yeah, okay, whatever."

Light fell silent after that and kept his thoughts to himself while he headed inside his house. "I'm home," he called lamely as he slipped off his shoes. And as always, his mother poked her head out into the hallway and smiled brightly at him.

"Welcome back, Light," she said. "How was school?"

"Ah, it was all right," he replied, already slowly moving in the direction of the stairs. But he suddenly became self-aware of the act and stopped in his tracks. _Don't get ahead of yourself. Play it cool._ He had to keep up normal appearances—he couldn't allow his eagerness to get the best of him.

His mom laughed. "You always say that. But you always do so well!"

Light grinned. "I try, I guess."

"And you're so modest about it," she said. "But you never let me reward you or anything."

"That's because it isn't needed, Mom," he told her.

"Right—but if you _did_ need something, you would tell me, wouldn't you?"

It took Light about half a second longer to answer her question than usual. He didn't anticipate it. It wasn't really characteristic of her to push. "Uh—of course I would."

His mother sighed softly and touched his arm. "Okay. It's just—sometimes I do worry about you. You work so hard and I'm proud of you, but I don't want you to over-do it. You spend so much time up there in your room—it can't be good for you. You should try to get out more, spend time with friends."

Up until this point, Light hadn't realized that his mother was worried about him, and it didn't take him long to decide that he wasn't a fan of the idea. Not only because he wanted to put her at ease, but also because if she was worried about him, that meant he hadn't been doing his job well enough go about his life normally. But still, she was his mother. It was only expected that she would notice these things.

So he put on a smile and did his best to reassure her. "No, it really isn't a big deal. I'm fine. It's just been really busy at school lately. Senior year and all that. But you're right, I probably could use to get out more. I did stop in a café the other day so—that counts for something, doesn't it?"

With a chuckle, his mother said, "Yes, that counts, I guess. But yeah, I mean it. You should go on a date or schedule a Sunday out with friends. I know you're popular in school. You've brought friends home before. Just—social interaction is good for you. As important as it is for you to keep your grades up, I'd like to see you making connections, too."

Light nodded. "Okay, okay. I'll try, all right?"

"That's all I can ask for," she said.

"Maybe this weekend," he continued, pulling his bag up on his shoulder. "We'll see. I have some work to do, so I'm gonna head upstairs. Is that okay?"

She sighed. "Of course. Study well. I'll call you down for dinner, okay?"

"Sounds good. Thanks." Then, finally having gotten her approval, Light escaped up the stairs to his room, where he locked the door and threw down his bag.

Ryuk snickered in the corner. "Mommy's worried about you. How sweet."

"Be quiet, Ryuk," Light said with a sigh as he went into his drawer to pull out the Death Note.

"Hey, be nice to me," Ryuk snapped. "I behaved the entire time."

"That's true, you did," Light allowed, even though at the moment he wasn't paying much attention. Even he couldn't deny how alive he felt when he held the notebook in his hands. It was strangely ironic, considering his morbid use of it. But he supposed it was because he felt his actions were making a difference. He was destroying criminals and cleansing this world of evil, a little bit at a time. The very prospect shot sweet adrenaline through his veins.

Ryuk then plopped down on Light's bed, leaning his head in his fist. He watched silently as Light gathered up his school notebooks along with the Death Note and set them on his desk. Then he asked, "So, what's it gonna be first? Homework or God's work?"

Light didn't fail to notice as Ryuk uttered those words with a tiny hint of irony, but he ignored them. He sat down at his desk and cracked his knuckles before snatching up a ballpoint pen. Cracking a devilish smile, he turned to Ryuk and asked, "What do you think?"

* * *

The damn faucet was leaking again.

For the third time in six months. And Sayaka could not for her own life figure out what the problem was. It was leaking from the bottom of the right handle, about the same spot as the previous two times this happened. Some time ago she went out and bought a wrench just so she could fix the tap herself without having to say anything to Tomone. But at this rate she would have to call a repair guy, or at least someone with better skills in this area. She couldn't afford to waste water.

Then again, she couldn't really afford to call professional help, either. And yet another paycheck, eaten up before she ever got her hands on it.

Sayaka let out a sigh and stepped out of her tiny bathroom as she carefully buttoned up her work blouse. She was fairly certain she had enough time to spare before her morning shift. But then she shot a glance around the corner at the clock next to her bed and cursed, using English terms her co-workers probably wouldn't understand. And by God, she was thankful for that.

Finishing up her blouse while still making sure to do the buttons correctly, she quickly smoothed her skirt and grabbed a hair tie so that she could try to at least give herself a half-decent looking pony-tail. And lastly, shutting off all the lights and nabbing her keys off the counter, she rushed out the door and down the small stairwell, which led right into the café kitchen.

"I'm here, I'm here," she said, scurrying past her co-workers to get a notepad and pen so she could start taking orders. She didn't even stop as she usually did in the mornings to breathe in her favorite scent: fresh coffee and pancakes. She was in too much of a hurry to get past the boss undetected. But she was caught before she got very far.

"You're late," Tomone observed, crossing her arms.

"Yes," Sayaka said, guessing that she might as well briefly explain the situation. "I—"

But Tomone wasn't quite done scolding her just yet. "You only live upstairs, Sayaka. I expect better."

"I know, but—"

"Your excuse better not be that you slept in."

Sayaka huffed, tired of being interrupted. "No, ma'am—I'm sorry. The bathroom faucet sprang a leak, so I got distracted."

"Sprang a leak?" Tomone asked, surprised. "Well, did you call someone?"

"Uh, not yet." Suddenly, the taller yet meeker girl felt sheepish. Some days, the boss really did have a way of making her employees feel smaller than she was. "I realized I was going to be late so I didn't—it's not a big leak, but I was worried about it wasting water—or getting worse, you know?"

"Right, right," Tomone said, seeming to take a moment of consideration. Then she spoke quickly, but decisively. "Fine, I'll call to get it looked at. You go get to work. It's gonna be a busy morning."

Sayaka only nodded and voiced her agreement, figuring that the potential expense was a discussion to be had later. But it was difficult not to let her mind wander back in that direction as she headed out to the main room to fill orders. These days she wasn't a fan of having to owe Tomone any more than she already did. Tomone was kind enough to let her work in her café and rent out the apartment upstairs—what more could she possibly ask for?

As difficult as it had been for Sayaka to make her way in this world after everything that happened last year, she could say that Tomone's kindness and patience had been the sweetest salvation. Not that she would ever be able to explain the depth of this gratitude to Tomone herself. Actually, knowing her, she probably wouldn't believe any of it, to begin with.

Luckily, the morning passed by more painlessly than Sayaka expected it would. While Saturday mornings tended to be more hectic than others, everyone was on their game today and moving things along swiftly and efficiently. As a result, Tomone spent the day in a good mood because that was exactly how she liked it. Yori was also in the kitchen this morning, so her skills were highly treasured. She had a large following of customers who visited the café each week just for her blueberry pancakes. Even Sayaka had to admit that they were tasty, although most of the pancake-y flavor was covered up the last time she ate them by all the syrup she used.

There were certain aspects of being alive that would never grow old to her. Sweet food was one of them.

Morning passed into afternoon, and for a while business slowed down, allowing Sayaka and the other workers a bit of a break. And meanwhile, Sayaka got to enjoy some average girl chit-chat with Yori in the kitchen.

"Would you be willing to go get your hair styled?" Yori asked.

Sayaka shrugged, sipping a hot chocolate. "I don't know. Why?"

Yori fluffed her hair a little, seeming a bit wistful as she thought about the subject. "Well, I was thinking about going to get mine done. I wanted to get a purple streak in it, but Tomone said I couldn't if I wanted to stay here. It went something like, 'If you walk in here with anything in your hair other than your God-given color, I'll point you straight toward the door." However—she did not say anything about a little styling! I don't think I want to chop it off, but I think I'd like to get some taken off at least and maybe do something pretty with it—you know?"

"I imagine that'd be nice," Sayaka replied.

Yori smiled. "Really? So, would you do it with me?"

"Why do I need to do it with you?"

"Because it isn't as fun to get your hair done if you don't have someone to go with."

Sayaka already knew that getting Yori to take "no" for an answer was a slim to none probability. But she still wasn't entirely sure about the idea of changing her hair. "I'm really not sure what would look good on me."

With a laugh, Yori said, "Oh, you'd rock any look, sweetie! You have such pretty dark hair."

After that, Sayaka started feeling a little bashful again. "Ya think?"

"Yeah! You could just get a trim—I think your length is great as it is. But I bet side bangs or something would be nice."

Sayaka hummed softly to herself, playing with her hair and considering if maybe a little bit of a change might not be such a bad idea after all. She'd have to give it a little thought. But she still promised to go with Yori to the hairstylist at some point during the week. No turning back at that point, apparently.

"Hey, you guys, come out here!" one of the girls called from the main room. And of course, Sayaka and Yori both got up to see what all the fuss was about, but Sayaka did not anticipate that all the excitement was over a sudden announcement on TV.

"It's a worldwide broadcast from the ICPO," the same girl said, beckoning them over. By now, even the few customers in the room had stopped eating to watch as Tomone turned up the volume.

A man with dark hair and a suit appeared on the screen. " _I head an International Police Task Force that includes all member nations. I am Lynd L. Tailor, otherwise known as L_."

 _L…?_

Sayaka leaned closer to Yori and whispered, "Do you know who he is?"

Yori shook her head. "Never heard of him."

The man who called himself L continued, " _Criminals around the world are becoming the victims of a serial killer—and I consider this to be one of the most atrocious acts of murder in history. I will not rest until those responsible are brought to justice. Kira—I will hunt you down and find you_."

Sayaka frowned. _So this is about Kira after all. The police must have finally decided to make a move._

" _Kira_ ," the man went on, " _I have a good idea of your motivations, and I can guess what you hope to achieve—but what you're doing right now is evil._ "

As of that moment, Sayaka put the pieces together in her head and realized what kind of dangerous territory this was. If Kira was an actual person or group of people committing these murders, it seemed foolish for this "L" to broadcast himself all over television making accusations. And furthermore, what did this even accomplish? How did making threats across a screen help move the case forward? Sayaka was left asking these questions in her head for not but a moment longer—only until Lynd L. Taylor clutched his chest and dropped dead on live TV.

Everyone in the room stirred, whispering and whimpering from fear due to the horrifying incident. Even Sayaka herself was a little shaken as she watched a couple other men drag Taylor's body away.

Less than a second later, a new image appeared on the screen—a blank one other than the letter "L" printed in the middle, in a large and admittedly impressive font. The voice that spoke next was disguised by a voice modifier, and it sounded almost spine-tinglingly eerie in contrast to the dead silence of the café room.

" _I—I had to test it just in case, but I never thought it would actually happen_ ," the voice said, apparently just as mystified as everyone else. " _Kira—so you can kill people without having to be there in person. I wouldn't have believed it myself if I hadn't just witnessed it._ "

Although she only watched with vague interest at first, Sayaka's full attention was now on the television. The events of the last five minutes alone were enough to get the wheels in her head turning and her blood pumping. And she always loved a good brain teaser.

Now she realized without him even having to say it. The man on television earlier wasn't L. Just a moment ago she thought L must have been some kind of idiot, but now… _There was a method to his madness, after all._

" _Listen to me, Kira_ ," L said, explaining what Sayaka had just managed to gather up in her head. " _If you did kill Lynd L. Taylor, the man who you just saw die on television, I should tell you that he was a prison inmate whose execution was scheduled for today. That wasn't me._ "

Sayaka nodded slowly, listening even as she cast her eyes aside to think. An inmate—it made sense.

" _But I assure you_ ," he continued, " _L is real. I do exist. Now—try to kill me!_ "

Her head shot up again and she listened to the sounds of panic in the room. Oh, God. Was it possible? Could Kira do it? Would hiding behind a screen and a voice modifier protect L? She bit her lip in anticipation as L continued to bait Kira without a hint of fear.

" _What's the matter? Can't you do it?_ "

A few more dreadful seconds passed.

" _Well, Kira_ ," L concluded, " _It seems that you can't kill me, after all._ " Even through the voice modifier, Sayaka could hear him smiling. _"So there are people you can't kill. Thanks for the hint. But let me return the favor. I'll tell you something I think you'll find interesting. Although this was announced as a world-wide broadcast, we're actually only broadcasting in the Kanto region of Japan. I had planned to broadcast this message around the world until we found you, but it seems that will no longer be necessary. I now know where you are._ "

It was then that Sayaka felt the edges of her own lips turning up into a smile. This guy was good. Almost too good.

 _"The police treated your first murder as an unrelated incident, but the first of your victims was actually a suspect in Shinjuku. Of all the criminals who have died of heart attacks as of late, this one's crime was by far the least serious—furthermore, his crime was only reported within Japan. So I used that information to deduce that you are in Japan, and your first victim was only an experiment, meaning you haven't been killing for very long. We decided to broadcast in Kanto first because of the large population—luckily, we found you. To be honest, I never expected it to go this well, but—now it won't be long before I'll be able to sentence you to death._ _I have to say I'm interested to hear how you're able to commit these murders without being present—but I guess I don't mind waiting a little longer. You can answer all my questions after I catch you. Let's meet again soon—Kira._ "

The broadcast ended, and everyone in the room let out the breath they didn't realize they'd been holding, including Sayaka.

"Wow, that was intense," Yori said after a moment, putting a hand on her chest. "That L—he must be like a famous detective or something. And from the sound of it he must be pretty darn good at his job."

"I'd say," Sayaka agreed with a nod. "This Kira is in for some tough competition."

She could hardly deny that she was baffled that L managed to deduce Kira's whereabouts so quickly. Two weeks ago, the entity they called "Kira" didn't even exist. It was only in the last week or so that people began talking about him, not even really knowing what "him" was, or if it was even a "him" to begin with. Now, all of the sudden it seemed plausible. Up until now Kira only took the lives of criminals. But by killing Lynd L. Taylor he proved that he wasn't out for the safety of others. He had to be young and naïve to believe that he could force his own ideals on others through any means, whatever they were. Sayaka had no idea how Kira could possibly cause the heart attacks of thousands of people, but she reasoned that she'd encountered stranger things.

Although that was really saying something.

However, because of all this, Sayaka now knew at least one thing for certain: she was Team L, all the way.


	3. Chapter 2: Sunday Morning Bus Jacking

**Hello... chapter 2 of Death Wish, here. I spent way more time on this today than I should have since I'm quite a lot of work to do... but hopefully after uploading this I'll be able to focus a little more on getting stuff done. This chapter is all from Sayaka's perspective, but I'm guessing that there will probably be a little more from Light coming up in the next one. I plan to give L a voice eventually as well, but not quite yet. We'll see what happens.**

 **Anyway, thanks for following and stuff. Leave a review if you have the spare time. And I hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note.**

Sunday Morning Bus Jacking

The day after the faucet issue and all the Kira nonsense, Sayaka bit the bullet and confronted her boss: "So, what was the damage for the faucet leak?" she asked. "A guy came over to fix it last night but told me you already paid."

"I did," Tomone replied easily, as if it were some trivial matter of no consequence to anyone. Sayaka was still quite skeptical at first, since Tomone had a tendency to deal out bad news with too straight a face, especially when she was busy. But what she had to say wasn't as horrifying as she thought it might be. "It wasn't that steep," she continued. "If you don't want too much to come out of your next pay, you can probably work most of it off with a couple extra shifts this week."

Sayaka lit up and jumped at the opportunity. "Yes, please," she said eagerly, clasping her hands and grinning at her boss. This would definitely be the easier option. While she wasn't all that keen on taking more shifts than she had since she already covered several during the week, she was willing to put in the effort for the extra money. Yori still had every intention of dragging her out to get their hair done one of these days, and Sayaka couldn't go if she was broke. She was far more content to just work a little bit longer for a few days and get the payment out of the way. In any case, she so rarely ever had anything else to keep her busy. Yori was the only one who invited her places, and most of the time she could hardly bring herself to refuse, since it wasn't like she made weekend plans like a normal person.

After all, even if the life she once knew was over, that didn't mean she shouldn't at least make some semblance of an effort to enjoy the one she had while it lasted. Just because she couldn't chase after her dreams anymore didn't mean she couldn't at least cherish little moments here and there. A little optimism was good now and then—although she found that as she got older staying optimistic was more difficult.

So Tomone agreed and assigned Sayaka's extra shifts, and Sayaka was relieved that the bill wasn't so high that she couldn't take care of it within a week or two. And yet she couldn't help the annoyance welling up in her that there should be so much fuss and bother over a leaky faucet. Some days Sayaka just didn't want to be an adult. She would have been much happier to sit around curled up in a fuzzy blanket all the time reading while eating chocolate strawberries all the time.

But alas… not even a remote prospect. Not unless she somehow got rich overnight.

Still, Sayaka took full advantage that evening after her shift was finally over and snuggled up in bed with a movie, resolving to relieve a little bit of stress. She wasn't in the mood for reading, since her eyes were too tired to focus on a book, and she sure as hell wasn't turning on the news. It was all just more crap about the Kira case that she didn't care to hear.

Yesterday she'd found herself inadvertently rooting the for mystery detective L after the impressive performance he pulled on the live TV broadcast, but by today the excitement had already worn off. In fact, she didn't even want to have anything else to do with Kira. Because if she did, she would start trying to formulate theories in her head about the case, and that was just too damn depressing.

After a while, Sayaka's eyes became heavy. For a little while, she closed them and just listened to the sounds and the voices on her TV, allowing them to sooth her mind and guide her toward sleep. She was in the dream realm between asleep and awake somewhere in the middle of her movie when her little flip phone abruptly went off. She jumped out of her haze in her moment of surprise and pulled her arms out from under her blanket. Goosebumps appeared on her arms and she shivered a little when the cold hit her previously covered skin, and she fumbled around in the dark with only the light of the little TV screen to help her search for her phone. Finally locating the accursed object on her nightstand, Sayaka flipped it open and answered with a sleepy, "Hello?"

" _Hey, what's up?_ " the voice on the other end of the line asked, in way too good a mood at 11 p.m. for her taste.

With her free hand, Sayaka rubbed her eye in an effort to conquer the grogginess. "Uh—I don't know, um… what is it, Yori?"

Her co-worker, who she currently wanted to strangle over the phone for sounding so lively and upbeat, said, " _I was just calling about our plans to go get our hair done, actually_."

Sayaka bit her tongue. _Really… and you couldn't have waited until work tomorrow, obviously._

"Okay, what about it?" Sayaka asked, keeping her wits about her as usual.

" _I know you work a lot_ ," Yori said. " _So I was thinking maybe we should schedule it two weeks from now so you have time to free up your day_."

It took a moment for Sayaka to answer, since she had to internally map out the next two weeks so she would know what day her friend was talking about. And it was too late at night for her to be doing mental math. But after a few extra seconds of contemplation, she murmured, "Sure—that would probably work."

" _Great! Man, it's been a while since I had a girl's day out. Hey, you know what else? After we get our hair done we should stop over at Space Land! I haven't been there in forever_."

Sayaka smiled a little, leaning her head on the tips of her fingers. "Won't our hair just get messed up right away if we go to the amusement park?"

There was a short pause. " _Well, probably, but whatever. I mean, most of the job I'm getting is pretty much permanent, anyway. And besides, we can just walk around and get food and stuff. It'll be chilly so I bet they'll have hot chocolate_."

"Oh—tempting me with my favorite drink," Sayaka said. "That's hardly fair."

" _I know how you operate_ ," Yori replied with a smirk in her voice. " _So, what say you? You in, or what?_ "

Based on their conversation up until this point, Sayaka just figured she was in whether she consented or not. But with a short sigh, Sayaka nodded and leaned back, letting her head fall against the pillows. "Yeah, all right. Let's do it."

" _Yes!_ " Yori exclaimed. " _It'll be fun. And it'll help you relax. You need a day_."

"I always need a day," Sayaka said, stretching out on her mattress lazily.

Yori laughed. " _Well—get some rest. I—uh, I'm only in for the noon to three shift tomorrow but I'll see you there_."

"As always. Have a good night."

" _Sleep well!_ "

After that, Sayaka hung up and let out a groan, realizing she now had yet another miserable excuse to spend money on her day out. As if getting her hair done wasn't expensive enough. Space Land was like a freaking money vacuum. There was no way to walk in there and not come out in some serious desolate poverty, unless you had immense self-restraint. She would have to be extra vigilant to make sure she didn't empty out her wallet, that day. As long as she kept a budget and didn't bring more than a certain amount along on the trip, she figured that she would probably survive.

Knowing Yori, Sayaka would probably also have to look out her, too. _She_ was liable to go overboard if not kept in check.

In reference to her wandering thoughts, Sayaka smiled in spite of herself. _Yori._

In the course of the last year, Sayaka had grown reasonably fond of the mischievous yet good-natured girl from work. Like Tomone, Yori was a breath of fresh air and had been along for the ride since before Sayaka ever showed up at the café looking for a job. She wasn't sure what to think of her at first, but after spending enough time with someone she supposed it was difficult not to build somewhat of a connection. Yori always made a point to make Sayaka feel included and accepted, even if it wasn't in the least bit necessary. These days, if she spent her free time with anyone it was Yori. And she was glad for it of course.

But there were days when it wasn't enough.

And as Sayaka slipped back under the covers and let the rest of her movie lull her to sleep, she felt the loneliness drag her under.

* * *

The next two weeks passed by fairly quickly. Getting stuck with extra shifts and constantly being busy certainly helped the time go by without Sayaka noticing as much, but she also had to admit she was relieved when she finished taking care of repaying Tomone for the repair bill and no longer had to worry about it. She knew something else for probably come along to screw up her routine soon enough, but at least one thing was out of the way.

Live one day at a time. That was how she'd make it through.

And she told herself the same thing as she left that bright Sunday morning to meet Yori. The same as always: get through it, and hopefully try to have at least a little bit of fun along the way. The walk to their destination was not long, and for a December morning it wasn't as cold as she expected. While she wore her jacket over her shoulders, she felt comfortable with the temperature otherwise and enjoyed the feeling of the sunlight warming her face.

By the time they made it to the hairstylist of course, Sayaka still wasn't completely sure what she wanted to have done with her hair. She'd actually spent quite a bit of time thinking about it, but it was hard to imagine herself in any other way than she was. Straight, long dark hair to contrast with her olive complexion and round face. She was self-confident enough to consider herself pretty, but nothing all that special. Although she could say that her mixed ethnicity gave her a bit of an unconventional look, at least for where she lived.

"Seriously, I want to see what you look like with side bangs," Yori said. "You should do it. If you don't like it you can always grow them back out."

Sayaka watched herself in the mirror as the hairstylist wrapped her up to protect her from fallen hair, and then pressed her lips into a thin line. Smiling a little and glancing over at Yori, she said, "Okay, let's give me some side bangs. Cut the rest to just past my shoulders."

As the hairstylist agreed and pulled out scissors and a comb to get started, Yori looked surprised. "Really, you're gonna take that much off? Are you sure?"

"Might as well mix it up," Sayaka said simply. If she was being honest, it felt liberating to have this control over what to have done with her hair. Whether she liked the result or not, she wanted to take full advantage. And like Yori said, if she didn't like it, she could just grow it back in the next few months.

Yori ended up getting her hair cut extremely short, until it barely even reached her neck. She said she wanted to do a complete change, just for the sake of it, and that if Tomone wouldn't let her dye it she had to go all out somehow. But Sayaka remembered her saying originally that she didn't want to get it all chopped off. Guess she changed her mind. Yori had a habit of taking drastic measures like that.

But actually, after she was finished Sayaka thought it suited her. While she somewhat expected Yori losing her hair to make her look younger, it actually made her look a bit older and more sophisticated. The look also framed her face nicely, curling a little by her ears to bring out her well-defined features. Sayaka was quite impressed, and even said so.

Her own hair, however, she wasn't completely sure about.

"It looks gorgeous, Sayaka," Yori said, reaching over to fluff her newly soft, freshly styled hair. "And look, your split ends are gone!" She laughed.

Sayaka smiled in response. "Yeah, I guess so." But then, pushing her new bangs out of her eyes, she added, "But I think these side bangs might take some getting used to."

"Well, if you don't like them you can always pull them back with a hair pin," Yori commented. "Although I think I was right before. You really rock this look. And the new length is pretty great, too."

Sayaka reached back to drag her fingers through her locks and looked in the mirror, still unsure despite Yori's sweet compliments. _We'll see—if I get used to this maybe I'll decide to keep it for a while._

Nevertheless, the girls paid their stylist promptly and took their leave, hair clean and fresh as spring flowers, and headed down to wait for their bus.

"Are you still feeling up to Space Land?" Yori asked, sounding expectant, as if she really wasn't asking because Sayaka's opinion mattered one way or the other. In fact, Sayaka knew that her opinion did matter to Yori. It was just another way that she showcased that stubborn nature of hers—the way she presented herself. And although Sayaka teased her both inwardly and outwardly about it, it was part of the reason she'd grown to enjoy her company.

But Sayaka still had quite a bit of juice left in her tank and was ready to take the rest of the day as it came. So, with a grin, she gave Yori a nod. "Of course! I am more than ready for a cup of hot chocolate." Although, granted, it probably wouldn't be nearly as delectable as the hot chocolate Maru made in the café. But Yori assured her that it was still pretty good for the money, and it had a way of warming the soul. It didn't really matter, anyway. Add a little bit of cinnamon and some mini marshmallows, and almost any cup of hot chocolate could be tasty.

Since the girls spent quite a while at the stylist that morning, they didn't have to wait long for the bus to come by and pick them up. They each paid the fee and boarded the bus, where there were just a handful of people sitting in random seats. Sayaka followed Yori and sat down next to her in the very back, so they could see most of the people in front of them.

The bus ride was fairly quiet, other than the occasional sound of voices from the small number of passengers, but even conversation overall was minimal. Yori let Sayaka sit next to the window, so instead of talking, Sayaka spent the next fifteen minutes or so just watching the scenery and the people outside. When the light hit the window just right, Sayaka could see her reflection in the window, and again her attention was drawn to her hair.

She let out a sigh and pushed her bangs out of her eyes again. Overall, so far this Sunday had been more relaxing and stress-free than she expected. She was having fun, just laughing and enjoying the day with Yori. This was the sort of thing normal people did with their friends. It was the sort of thing Sayaka needed to do more often if she really wanted to start living again, instead of simply existing without purpose or aspirations.

But then again, did it even really matter?

Sayaka looked away from the window when the bus came to a halt in front of another stop. If her calculations were right, there were still about two more stops before Space Land. She glanced down at her phone, estimating that the ride probably wouldn't be too much longer. But she supposed she didn't mind too much either way.

One man boarded the bus at this stop, just a regular-looking middle-aged guy with a brown jacket over his shoulders—and Sayaka watched him as he started down the aisle to find a seat. Or at least, that's how it appeared at first. But her brain sent off electric warning signals when he immediately and almost without warning turned around again.

 _Oh, crap_ , she thought in the second between the moment the man pulled a gun out of his pocket and the second he moved up the aisle toward the bus driver drew it against his head.

"Stay in your seats unless you wanna die," the man snapped, eliciting gasps of horror and panic from the passengers. The bus driver tensed up in response, but kept driving, obviously afraid to stop. Sayaka gritted her teeth as it sank in that, out of nowhere, she and Yori were stuck in the middle of a bus jacking. Really, what were the odds?

"Oh, God," she heard Yori say from beside her, clutching the seat in front of them.

"Everyone, shut up!" the man with the gun shouted, glaring at everyone on the bus. "If anyone makes one move I'll put a bullet in their head."

All the passengers fell into deafening and paralyzing silence as the man up front proceeded to threaten the bus driver into calling Space Land and explaining the situation. "You heard him," the man hissed into the two-way radio after the bus driver told someone at their destination about the hijacking. "So listen up: get a female staff member to bring all of Space Land's cash from yesterday. I know you have it. Make her meet us two bus stops from the park, and you'd better not keep me waiting. If you get the police involved, I swear to you I'll kill every passenger on this bus!" After essentially bargaining all their lives for Space Land's money, which thoroughly ticked Sayaka off as much as it frightened her, the man took the radio phone from the bus driver and smashed it on the ground.

By now Yori was shaking in her seat, breathing unevenly from the adrenaline rushing through her veins. Sayaka looked back up at their armed captor, trying to come up with some sort of plan in her head. There had to be some way to make it out of this and save everyone. But the problem was, every potential route that she took in her head was too risky. A man with a gun was dangerous, even if he was out-numbered. If anyone tried jumping him to get the gun away, there was a chance someone would get hurt. In a situation like this, she'd always been taught that it was best to just stay calm and wait it out until there was no other option. For now, the best way to keep everyone alive was to do as instructed and keep quiet.

So, in an attempt to reassure Yori, Sayaka slid her hand across the seat and took Yori's fingers in hers. The trembling girl turned her head slightly, and Sayaka offered her a gentle nod. "It's okay," she whispered, quietly enough that the hijacker wouldn't hear. Yori didn't reply, only taking a deep and shaky breath while squeezing Sayaka's hand a little harder.

She didn't mind. They were both in need of a little support right now.

Across from the two girls sat a young man in a coat, while it seemed that two teenagers were currently sitting in front of him. At first, from what Sayaka could tell, it looked like maybe the boy and girl who were huddled together may have been passing notes. However, the man behind them joined in on their secret conversation after a moment, whispering to them over the seat. As hard as she tried, Sayaka couldn't hear what they were saying from her position, but when she saw the older man handing them what looked like an I.D., she had to guess that the three of them were collaborating over a possible plan of some sort.

Her eyes then narrowed on the fingers of the man beside them, which reached into his coat gingerly. Ever so slightly pulling upward, he briefly revealed the grip of a weapon. He didn't take it out, however, simply holding it close to him as if waiting for the moment he would need it.

 _A concealed carrier._ That wasn't common in Japan, since normal citizens generally weren't allowed to carry guns. In that case—he showed the people in front of him his identification. Was he with the police?

"Shut up, you old hag!" the man hissed, making Sayaka jump. When she glanced up, her had the gun pointed at an old woman's head a few seats up from where she and Yori sat. She gritted her teeth in frustration, disgusted by the actions of this low-life jerk. Both a thief and a bully. It didn't get much worse.

His attention then shifted away from the old woman when the boy sitting near them lost a small piece of paper from his pocket. Sayaka mentally screamed at him to stop when he reached down to grab the paper before the hijacker saw it. She shook her head, as if somehow the boy in the seat would be able to read her mind and stay where he was.

But it was too late. The hijacker noticed almost immediately and pointed his gun at the light-haired young man. "Don't move, you little punk!" The boy paused, his fingers just inches away from the crinkled up piece of paper that had fallen from his pocket. "What the hell is that?" the man demanded. "Here we've got a smart ass! You guys were planning somethin', weren't you?" He snatched the paper off the floor, and Sayaka bit her lip anxiously, terrified of what might be written on that thing, considering what she deduced they were discussing a moment ago. But when the man straightened out the piece of paper, he simply let out a scoff of disinterest. "Plans for a date." Then, throwing the paper the boy's head, he muttered, "Stupid kid," before heading back toward the front of the bus.

Sayaka released a soft sigh and closed her eyes in relief. But then, with no warning, something strange happened—far stranger than anything that had transpired so far today. The hijacker turned around abruptly, as if something had startled him, and all of the sudden every ounce of color drained from his face.

"What the hell are you?! You in the very back—what—"

The hijacker was shaking his gun, and it seemed as though his attention was directed toward something (or someone) in the aisle, between Yori and Sayaka, and the man in the seat to their left. The girls both turned toward what the hijacker was pointing at, but they saw nothing there. "How long have you been hiding back there?!" the hijacker shouted, backing away while putting both hands on his gun. "S—stay where you are! Don't move!"

 _What the hell…? Is he seeing things? Or…_

"Everyone, get down!" the man in the coat shouted, and by instinct Sayaka immediately ducked down into her seat, pulling Yori along and holding an arm around her, while Yori clung to her as well in her fright. She heard shots fired, people screaming, glass breaking—but she didn't dare move from her position.

All of the sudden, the gun shot noises ceased and she glanced over to watch the man in the coat rush out of his seat. At this point she chanced a look over her seat, but she nearly slammed into it when the bus screeched to an abrupt stop. She had just enough time to stand up and watch the hijacker take off through the bus doors. Then came more screeching tires.

And it was over, just like that.


	4. Chapter 3: Fatal Success

**Hi. Another chapter here for Death Wish. In this chapter, Sayaka and Light meet officially for the first time, which I thought was pretty fun to write. And I find writing Light's point of view to be interesting. I know I don't do it perfectly, especially since it's difficult to capture the essence of such a complex character. But I'm going to try my best to keep him true to the Light we all love to hate, as well as add a little bit of my own twist to his personality. It should be a challenge, but a fun one at that. And L... who knows what I'm going to do when I get to him! THAT will be a tough bridge to cross, lol... but we'll see how it goes!**

 **Anyway, thank you for your support and I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note.**

Fatal Success

The bus hijacker was dead. One minute he had been threatening to kill them all, and the next minute he was going insane, running from a seemingly non-existent phantom and jumping off the bus into the path of an oncoming vehicle. The driver stomped on the brakes and tried to swerve, but it was too late. Sayaka couldn't believe it, even as she saw him bleeding out on the ground in front of the bus. The car that hit him was now stopped, the person inside jumping out in a panic.

"Don't look," she said to Yori, trembling herself from the sight but afraid that her friend might not be able to handle it. "Someone better call an ambulance," she then called to the other passengers, trying to sound as even as possible. While the bus passengers shuffled around and she saw couple people pulling out cell phones, she slipped past Yori in her seat.

"Hey—Sayaka—"

"Stay there a minute," Sayaka commanded, heading up to the front of the bus where the man in the coat stood, frozen at the sight of the dead man. His eyes were wide, horrified, and for a second she worried he might scream. He was much taller than her, and she peered up at him from the side and asked, "Sir, are you okay?"

He tensed when he heard her address him, and then hesitantly he pulled his eyes away from the hijacker. His voice was a little hoarse and uncertain, but he managed to reply, "I—yes, I'm fine." Looking at him closely, she wasn't so sure he was all right at all. But she supposed, even if he was with law enforcement that seeing something like this happen so suddenly would be enough to render him in temporary shock.

She didn't wait for him to say anything else before brushing past him to get off the bus. In the distance she heard sirens, which meant that someone must have called for help and an ambulance was on the way. The person who'd hit their hijacker with his car was already trying to stop the blood, doing CPR, anything that might revive him.

"Oh, God," the man whimpered while kneeling down next to him. "Oh, God, I killed a man."

Sayaka had a difficult time approaching due to the horror of witnessing the hijacker's bleeding body, but she did her best to stay composed for the sake of the poor guy breaking down in front of her. "No, no, please," he sobbed, even as Sayaka tried to put herself between him and the body.

"Hey—" she said, cringing as she noticed the unevenness in her own voice. She put her hand on his arm carefully, in an effort to console him. "Hey, listen… there's nothing you can do now, okay?"

He shook his head, blubbering out pleas and apologies to God, some that she couldn't even understand in his garbled up Japanese, while he continued in vain to try to save the hijacker. She watched as his hands became covered with blood that wasn't his, and thought for a moment that she might be sick. And for the first time as a result of the fear and intensity of the bus ride, she noticed that she had seen the hijacker before. In fact, she'd seen his face on the news just recently. The guy was a dangerous criminal with a bounty on his head: Kiichiro Osoreda.

Before Sayaka had time to get too involved in her own thoughts, the bus driver and another passenger approached—she heard one of them still talking on the phone with the emergency operator.

"Sir, please," Sayaka tried again. "He's gone. And we need to be out of the way in a minute so that the police can do their jobs. Come on…" He didn't look at her, but he reluctantly let her pull him up by the arms, and she led him back over to where his car was. He was still crying, and tears were running down his cheeks, while his fingers had Osoreda's blood on them. Turning to a couple of the passengers who'd been brave enough to get off the bus, she asked, "Does anyone have any tissues?"

Luckily, the older woman from earlier came forward with her purse in hand, husband close behind. While the woman handed the man a tissue so he could start wiping off some of the blood, Sayaka squeezed his shoulder gently. "I'm sorry—really…" he murmured, more coherently than before as his tears began to dry up. "Oh, I'm such a mess."

"It was an accident," Sayaka said, knowing that there was nothing else she could say. Only to assure him that it wasn't his fault, that he couldn't have foreseen this happening. None of them could have.

"Make sure not to touch your face with your hands till after you've washed them," Sayaka said quietly, dropping her arm. Then, regarding the older folks who were kind enough to share their tissues, she asked, "Can you guys watch over him for a few minutes until help gets here?"

They both complied, and she turned away. What she needed was a moment to breathe and she wasn't going to get it by staring at the scene of the accident or the blood on that man's hands. And to think there was a time when she wanted to go into law enforcement, herself. She guessed witnessing moments like this got at least somewhat easier with time—after all, this was only the second dead body she'd ever seen.

Feeling light-headed from all the adrenaline and suddenly a little bit sick to her stomach, Sayaka moved over to the bus and leaned against the side in case she stumbled. It was just a few seconds later when she heard a voice behind her. Good Lord, she just needed a minute alone.

"Miss, are you feeling all right?"

She turned back around, in the direction of all the chaos, but instead focused her attention on the person speaking to her. She was surprised to see that it was the boy on the bus who'd dropped that piece of paper earlier. Hands in his pockets, he regarded her with mild concern, but otherwise looked unfazed by the incident.

Rubbing her forehead with a sigh, Sayaka told him, "Yeah, I just—I saw all that and felt a little woozy."

"Well, I suppose anyone would after that," he said.

"I'm more worried about him," Sayaka replied, nodding in the direction of the man whose car hit Osoreda. "He's—probably gotta spend the rest of his life wondering whether or not this was his fault."

The boy shook his head lightly. "Sometimes freak accidents happen. Although I guess we should all be grateful that the passengers are safe." A few seconds of silence fell between them. Then, his eyes lit up a little. "Hey—don't I know you from somewhere?"

When he said that, Sayaka had the vague notion that she'd met this man somewhere before, but she couldn't seem to remember where. Because of her job, she saw so many different people on a given day that she usually couldn't distinguish one from the next unless they came in regularly. Not to mention her mind was muddled after the events of the last half hour.

But it only took the boy a moment. "Wait—oh, you're the girl from that café! You were my waitress a few weeks ago."

At first Sayaka nearly let out a huff since the boy pretty much proved her point, but all of the sudden it came back, and she recognized his face from the café. He was the handsome high school student who'd given her the heebie-jeebies a while back. Interesting that they'd been caught up in the same bus jacking together.

"Oh, yeah…" Sayaka finally replied. "I remember you coming in. Sorry I didn't recognize you right away—sometimes it's easy to forget faces when you're a waitress."

"No, I completely understand," he said with a smile. "I didn't recognize you immediately either. It must be—your hair is different, right?"

Sayaka inadvertently found herself smiling that he noticed her hair and she reached up to brush her side bangs out of her eyes. "Um—yeah, it is. I just got it done today, actually."

"Really?" he said. "Well, it's nice. I like it. Oh—uh, my name is Light Yagami, by the way. Your name is—wait, don't remind me—Sayaka? Was that it? Or—well, you aren't at work today, so maybe you have something else you'd rather be called."

She shook her head, not really caring what he called her. She wasn't really a fan of having people use her surname, anyway. "No, Sayaka is just fine. It's nice to meet you, Yagami-san."

"The pleasure's mine," he said, flashing another smile that she thought didn't look entirely genuine. "Although, in that case I guess you'll just have to call me Light."

"Fair enough."

An ambulance and other police cars began filing in, blocking traffic so that no one else could get through or cause further disturbance, and the passengers who had not already come out began stepping off the bus, some avoiding looking at the horrific sight out front. The girl Light was sitting with on the bus today came over, latching onto his arm. "Light? Are you okay?"

The looked down at her and nodded reassuringly. "Yeah, of course. Are you?"

She nodded as well, and then looked over at Sayaka with curiosity. Light noticed this and, seeming to remember himself, said, "Oh—Yuri, this is Sayaka. I just—came over to check on her because she wasn't feeling well after the incident. I know her because she was a waitress at a café I visited a while ago. And—Sayaka, this my date, Yuri."

"Nice to meet you," Yuri said softly, still looking frightened and shaken.

Sayaka smiled a little. "Likewise."

"Sayaka! Sayaka!" Finally, Yori appeared and maneuvered around Light and Yuri to join her. "Sayaka, I was worried when you ran off the bus like that."

"Sorry," she replied. "I wanted to get out here to see if there was anything I could do, but… well, then, I felt a little light-headed after everything that happened. Are you okay? Did you see what happened up front?"

Yori swallowed and nodded. "Yeah, I—I probably shoulda listened to you when you said not to look—but when I walked past…" She shuddered. "Oh, God…"

Sayaka reached over and patted her back affectionately, but didn't say anything. She knew nothing would have been appropriate, since even though all of the passengers were safe now, not everyone made it out alive.

And so short while later, Osoreda was being moved into a body bag and police officers were requesting statements from the bus driver and the passengers. It didn't take that long, but the whole process left Sayaka exhausted and in a foul mood for various reasons. She personally didn't get harassed much with questions, but they did elicit a few details from Yori's side of the story. And the poor girl was so shaken and visibly upset that Sayaka stepped in to finish answering their questions so they would leave her alone. Not to mention she felt terribly sorry for the man who hit Osoreda with his car, who was still crying even as he spoke to the police.

She also couldn't help noticing that sometime between the point she got off the bus and the point the police showed up, the man in coat disappeared entirely. Was he trying to avoid them…? In that case, maybe he wasn't with law enforcement after all.

Letting out a sigh after they were given the okay to depart, Sayaka murmured to Yori, "Why don't we just skip Space Land for today, huh? After all this is over, you and I can go back to my apartment and have hot chocolate there, instead, okay?"

As Yori quietly voiced her agreement, Light, who was still present, turned to his date. "Oh, right—Space Land. I forgot all about that in all the turmoil. Looks like that plan got rained on, huh, Yuri?"

The young girl sighed. "Well—if you want—we could still go later."

Light appeared surprised. "Really? You still want to go?"

"Sounds like the girl just spoke her peace," Sayaka said, a tiny smirk playing on her lips as she glanced between the two.

"Well," he said, reaching up to ruffle the back of his hair, "I guess we still have time if you really feel you're up for it."

Yuri nodded. "Yeah. It'll be fun. Plus, I do want to finish our date."

"Make yourselves dizzy on a few rides," Sayaka laughed. "That'll make you feel better. And Light, maybe you could win Yuri a cute stuffed animal. I hear sometimes they have ones half our size!" She spread her arms out in an exaggerated gesture, which even made Yori chuckle.

"Apparently those are hard to get though," Yori said quietly.

Sayaka lifted her right shoulder an inch and then dropped it again. "Light seems like a talented guy. He could do it."

"He is _so_ talented," Yuri said, seeming eager for the chance to brag about her date.

But Sayaka was too focused on Light, who, despite her previous doubts about him was way too fun to tease. His reactions were so awkward, as if he simply wasn't sure how to deal with all these girls laughing at him at once. And they were the most genuine-looking expressions she had managed to pull from him thus far.

Then Light sighed, granting Yuri a quick smile. "Well, I'll try. No promises, though. It's been a crazy enough day, already."

Pulling her purse farther up on her shoulder, Yuri replied, "It's okay, I understand. I was just playing with you, you know. Anyway—we should probably get out of this place. I really—don't want to be here anymore."

Sayaka folded her arms across her chest as she glanced back over at group of police cars, all huddled up at the scene. As images of the man's body flashed in her mind, she turned her head away and murmured, "I completely agree with that statement."

After that, she and Yori parted ways with Light Yagami and his date, and while she tried to keep Yori occupied with some idle conversation, her own mind was somewhere else. She thought back to the hijacking and subsequently the death of Osoreda. Now that it was all over, certain events ran together in her mind and she found it difficult to keep them separated. She remembered Osoreda boarding the bus at the 11:31 stop, and how he threatened to kill them all unless he got the money he demanded from Space Land. She remembered how he caught Light dropping a piece of paper, and immediately after he saw an image in the back of the bus that frightened him enough to drive him off the bus into the path of his own demise. Osoreda lay dead, and the man in the coat, who she knew had a gun, fled the scene before the police ever arrived.

Something about all these events didn't add up properly in her head. Whatever Osoreda saw, she was certain it would be written off as either insanity or a drug-induced apparition. She also didn't doubt Osoreda's sinister intentions toward the passengers, or the car driver's horror at having killed him. But somehow it all seemed too convenient—as if the universe set this all up just perfectly for its own entertainment.

And then the one loose end that simply didn't belong: the man in the coat.

* * *

Light was surprised that Yuri still wanted to go to Space Land after the bus jacking. He remembered how she trembled in his arms while they were on the bus, after Kiichiro Osoreda started firing off shots at Ryuk, and how quiet she'd been for several minutes after. But at the same time, he'd always pegged her as the resilient type.

They decided to walk the rest of the way, since it wasn't far from the accident—and of course Yuri wanted to get away from there as soon as possible. Not that he blamed her. The difference between the two of them was, Light was already accustomed to death. He lived and breathed it daily (however ironic it sounded).

To his annoyance, Ryuk wouldn't shut up the entire rest of the way to Space Land. And worse, with Yuri around there was nothing he could do about it.

"That was a really impressive thing you did back there," Ryuk said, a lift in his tone that made Light clench his jaw in irritation. "I never would have guessed you'd go that far. I have to say, I'm really starting to like the way you think. It's refreshing. You have no idea just how boring my life has been up until meeting you. I have to say it was pretty rude that that guy started shooting at me, even though it wasn't like it hurt or anything."

Light rolled his eyes, trying his very best to block out the Shinigami's rambling as they entered the park. He turned to Yuri, allowing her to make the decision. "So, what would you like to do first?"

The girl stopped a moment to consider. "You know, I think I really want to see if they have any hot chocolate. Those girls we met earlier made me start thinking about it and now I'm craving a hot drink."

Light agreed, and the two of them, along with Ryuk, walked around searching for hot drinks, Light's mind wandered back in the direction of the girl with them on the bus.

Sayaka.

Dark, shoulder length hair, chocolatey eyes, she probably no taller than 5'3''—and she had a playful smile on her face while teasing him today. And yet he got the sense that she kept a calculated distance between them during the entire time they spoke. She was guarded and closed off, and not just from him. She treated the girl she was with in a similar manner. It was strange—and still oddly alluring. He watched her study him like a science experiment, as if she were looking for something threatening or dangerous. Perhaps it was only the fear of the accident causing her to be hyper-aware. And then again, maybe she had more going on in that pretty head of hers than she let on.

Ryuk continued to babble on behind him while he was lost in thought, and more than once Yuri stopped to ask if he was okay. At that point, Light started to think maybe it was a better idea to let today's events go for a while and focus on his date before she started to worry unnecessarily. He hated to have her think he was disinterested, even though the reality was, he couldn't have cared less about the date anymore. Osoreda was dead and he now knew the name of the FBI agent tailing him. _Raye Penber._

 _It's too bad that you just weren't quite smart enough._ So little effort it had taken to manipulate Penber into showing him his I.D. Now it was only a matter of time before he'd be able to get rid of him, along with all the other FBI agents who had come to Japan, looking for Kira. There was no way any of those fools were cunning enough to outwit him. Except, perhaps, L. But as of yet, that remained to be seen. If everything went smoothly, Light and L would collide some way or another soon enough. And then it would be a test—a test of who had the most powerful mind. Of course, Light knew he wouldn't lose, but he'd be damned if he didn't follow his ideals through until the very end, no matter the cost. He would never surrender to his enemy, as long as he still breathed.

A few minutes later Light and Yuri came upon a stand where vendors were selling hot chocolate, and he was forced to return from inside his thoughts once again. And like the good gentleman he was, he bought a cup for each of them. He blew on his absently before taking a sip, letting the hot, sweet liquid rush down his throat.

Meanwhile, Ryuk said, "Wow, that looks pretty tasty. Hey, Light, do you think they have any apples around hereEOOOW—"

While no one was looking, Light thrust his heel downward onto the top of Ryuk's foot and shot him a dark look. _Stop talking, you idiot._

Ryuk recoiled from the pain and lifted his foot up in the air, holding it in his claws. "What the heck was that for?" he snapped, even though Light had already turned back toward Yori to talk about how tasty their drinks were, as if nothing happened. "Oh, I get it. You want me to shut up and stop talking to you while you're on your date. Well, I can take a hint. I bet you thought that stunt you just pulled was pretty funny. Haha. Well, you aren't going to hear another peep out of me. And the next time you need me for somethin', forget it."

Light sighed inwardly from exasperation. _Yeah, okay, Ryuk._

"I'll just stand here and not say another word," Ryuk continued. "Not even one peep. You'll regret it later and wish you hadn't been so mean to me. Guaranteed. And I'll just be quiet like I am right now, because you decided to go and be a jerk about it instead asking me nicely in the first place. So that's it. Not another word outta me. Not even if you offer me a whole bushel of apples."

Well, not another word turned into quite a few more words in fact, but Light realized quickly that whatever he said or did wouldn't make a difference. So he simply continued with his best attempt to ignore Ryuk as the day went on. He and Yuri finished up their drinks, and after that she dragged him onto a few rides that made him feel sick to his stomach, and eventually he ended up winning a plush penguin for her in a game.

And even he had to admit, as they left after a few hours of play, she did look ridiculously cute as she hugged the life out of it. The problem was, she was cute, but otherwise served little purpose in his master plan and her personality was intolerably boring. "This was really fun, Light," she said sweetly, earning a slight ear from him. "We should do it again sometime. And—preferably not almost get killed, of course."

He nodded and smiled, trying his best to feign interest. After all, he never knew when he might need to use her again. "Yeah, I agree."

They took the bus home together since it was too long a walk from Space Land. He knew they had no reason to fear now, but he noticed that Yuri was a bit jumpy and tensed every time a new passenger got on the bus. He supposed it was only natural for her to be nervous—but he was too exhausted from the day's events to even bother trying to reassure her. He wanted to sleep, but he still had homework to do and names to write in the Death Note. Another long evening was ahead of him.

Even so, after he finally said goodbye at her door and rid himself of the girl for the day, he found himself smiling—because in truth, he could not possibly have been more satisfied with his great success.


	5. Chapter 4: Only Human

**Hey, everyone, and welcome to my newest chapter of Death Wish. Sorry it's been a while. Life happens I guess. But I'm back with a new chapter, titled Only Human. In this chapter, told mostly in Light's perspective, Light goes back to the cafe in an effort to connect with Sayaka, because after the bus hijacking he wants to make sure that she's as clueless as everyone else.**

 **Anyway, thanks for favoriting/following etc, and I hope you enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note.**

Only Human

Light knew little of Sayaka's work schedule, so he was taking a gamble visiting her café this afternoon. The girl had been on his mind almost constantly since they'd spoken two days ago following the bus hijacking. He'd gone over it again and again in his head, wondering if it was the best option to approach her. He had no interest in forming any unnecessary attachments, nor did he want to make her suspicious of him.

But she was a smart girl. He saw the wheels turning in her head after the accident—he saw the way she observed the world around her with such a keen eye and a bit of skepticism. Now that they'd met and become acquainted, he felt he had little choice but to gain some extra insight on her person, just in case.

Not to mention his mother would be glad to see him getting out and socializing more often.

"Table for one, please."

He got lucky. She was here.

"Sure thing," she said with a soft smile. "Right this way."

As she led him over to a table, dark hair bouncing behind her in a short pony-tail, Light said, "You look well."

The girl set a menu down at a table. It sat by a side window, away from the door. "Of course. Why wouldn't I be?" He found it odd that she genuinely looked confused by his question.

With a chuckle, he replied, "I just mean because of the other day. Seemed like it was hard on you. To be truthful, I was a bit worried."

This time it was her turn to be surprised. "Oh. Um… well, I'm pretty resilient most of the time." She scratched her cheek with her index finger, a gesture he thought to be quite endearing. He didn't say as much, of course.

"Well, I'm glad to hear it." Then, he decided to take a slightly more risky approach. "When do you get off work? Are you free later?"

She tilted her head, still keeping up a professional appearance—but he picked up on her suspicion. "Why do you ask?"

He cleared his throat. "I just—thought maybe you'd like to walk with me for a while."

"Don't you have a girlfriend?"

There was a short pause.

 _Damn._ He hadn't given that one much thought. Most women in their right minds wouldn't agree to go anywhere with a guy who was already taken. Not that he considered himself "taken" to begin with, but Sayaka had seen him with Yuri. Obviously, she was bound to make that assumption.

 _All right, back up…_

With a small smile, he said, "Well, actually, it isn't—really all that serious. But—I think you have the wrong idea."

"You mean you aren't hitting on me?" she asked.

"No, no… I just—I thought you were interesting and I wanted to get to know you. I thought maybe we could be, you know, friends."

Sayaka didn't look entirely convinced at first, and for a minute he thought she might actually refuse. But then, pulling out her notepad and a pen from behind her ear, she said, "Okay. I get off in an hour. We can hang out after that. Cool? Now, you need to order something before my boss comes to yell at me for lollygagging."

So Light ordered a black coffee and Sayaka took his menu away, and once again Light smiled, having gotten his way.

"I like her," Ryuk said, leaning his arm on the table across from Light. "She's got fire. You start messin' around with that one and you'll have to keep her on a pretty tight leash."

Light snorted, casting his attention to the other waitresses in the room. As he'd already decided, he wasn't interested in making a lasting connection with this woman. He only wanted to determine her potential to become a threat to him. That was all. As long as he was able to figure out her full name, he would have the advantage either way. But he certainly couldn't afford to be reckless. Getting Raye Penber's name had been risky enough. An oversight was something he could not afford.

After his drink came, Light spent another half hour sipping his drink and staring out the window beside him. Despite the occasional pointless comment, Ryuk didn't attempt to annoy him to death today as he usually did. So for the most part he simply listened to the dull hum of the voices in the café mixed with some faint clanking and beeping in the back kitchen. He enjoyed the calm atmosphere.

Eventually Light glanced at his watch and realized it was nearly 5:00, the end of Sayaka's work shift, so he quickly paid for his drink and stepped outside the café. He thought it would be more courteous to her to wait outside rather than leave with her in front of all her coworkers.

It was a few minutes after when Sayaka appeared. She'd taken the time to change out of her work uniform, although he was amused to find that she simply changed into a jacket and a pair of loose jeans. Apparently she held little regard for her appearance in front of others.

"Hey, I'm glad you decided to join me," Light said in a friendly tone, falling into step with her on the sidewalk. He had to adjust his strides to make sure he didn't walk too fast for her, as his legs were several inches longer and he was quite a bit taller.

The girl shrugged, pulling her purse up on her shoulder. "I didn't have anything better to do."

Light chuckled. "Well, I'm glad you were willing to grace me with some of your precious free time."

He thought he saw her smile then. "So, where are we going, exactly?"

"I didn't really have anything in mind. I just thought it was a nice afternoon for a walk." Perhaps he should have come up with some sort of destination before. But frankly, he wasn't sure what Sayaka liked to do.

But she quickly put him at ease. "Well, you're in luck. I happen to greatly enjoy taking walks."

"Me too," Light replied. "It helps me think."

"Hey, me too," she said, causing them both to laugh, although part of the sound of it was drowned out by a bus that passed them by. It was too bad. Light enjoyed the sound of Sayaka's laugh. It was soft, but full and clear at the same time. It was neither too restrained nor too shrill, and he liked that.

After the following few seconds of silence, Light glanced at her and said, "So, uh—I just wanted to say I'm sorry for earlier. I mean, if I came off the wrong way about wanting to hang out with you. The last thing I wanted was to make it weird."

"No, not at all," she said, putting her hands in her pockets as a breeze rushed past them, "I should apologize for jumping to conclusions. But for the record, I thought you were interesting, too. And—in any case, I guess it's a good thing you weren't hitting on me, because I'm pretty sure I'm too old for you." Her tone was teasing as she spoke.

"How old are you?"

"Twenty."

She said it as if she'd rehearsed it a dozen times. Light wondered if people asked for her age often. It was possible. To his eyes, she appeared a bit younger than she was.

He smirked a little. "Well, I'm going to be eighteen in February, so it's really not _that_ big a difference."

"Hm," she said. "I guess not. And I have to say, you do seem older than that. I mean, intellectually. You don't really remind me of other guys your age. Or even my age."

"Hey, cut us a break," Light teased, pretending he didn't hear Ryuk's chuckles in the background. "We're more fragile than you'd think."

"Oh, I know," she replied almost playfully, but the mood shifted yet again when her smile faded slightly and she turned her head away. Had he touched some sort of nerve?

Whatever it was, however, she didn't dwell on it for long and simply changed the subject. "So—since you're in your third year of high school, what are you planning on doing when you graduate?"

Light sighed. "You know—you're only the millionth person to ask me that question this month."

He watched out of the corner of his eye as Sayaka reached up and absently scratched her cheek again. "Sorry—just seemed like a good topic for conversation."

He sighed. But although he was tempted to curse this question out of existence, he chose to see it as merely another opportunity. He knew that to earn this girl's trust, he would have to be open with her and present himself as worthy of said trust. Sharing his own personal experiences and goals would encourage her to share hers as well.

And so he continued, "That's okay. Actually, I'm planning on going to college—and then later going into the police force."

Sayaka raised her eyebrows in response, but then nodded in approval. "Wow. Nice."

"Yeah, well—my dad's a police officer so—I guess it was a little pre-determined."

"But that's great," she said, granting him a short, closed-lipped smile. "I mean, you're clearly an intelligent guy, and you've got the ambition. It sounds like it'll be good for you. I was, uh—at one point that was my plan, too."

Light's eyes widened in genuine surprise. "Wait. The police force? You?"

Her laugh was half-hearted. "Yeah. Little old me."

Struggling in his mind to understand how exactly someone planning on joining the police ended up as a café waitress, Light asked, "Why didn't you?"

She shrugged. "There was a time I wanted it more than anything. It was basically my dream ever since I started high school."

"And—what changed?"

"My parents passed away."

Light fell silent this time. Very rarely was Light Yagami left speechless in conversation, but he'd never had to try to express his condolences to someone who told him that both their parents were dead. And she was only twenty years old? How long had she been supporting herself on her own?

As his mind swam with thoughts, she continued softly, "It's amazing how much your perspective changes when you lose the people who are supposed to be cheering you on. I guess in a way, changes that happen around you, change you as a person, too. I thought I had it all figured out, but now—I have no idea what I want to do with my life. I feel like I'm just—going through the motions, forever walking in place. No direction. No motive. Just nothing."

Abruptly, Sayaka stopped and pressed her lips into a thin line. Turning toward Light, she grimaced, as if she was ashamed she even spoke. "Sorry, that probably sounded crazy. I didn't mean to go off like that."

God, she had no idea.

"No, no," Light said quickly. "You don't have to apologize. I completely understand what you mean."

She blinked and brushed her bangs away from her face. "Really?"

Light nodded. "Yeah. Believe it or not, I think I went through the same thing for a while. I didn't really know what I wanted to do—didn't feel like I could relate to people, or like I really even belonged anywhere. And honestly, it was dull and lonely and boring, but…" He trailed off, unable to find more words in the moment.

Sayaka frowned. "So—you don't feel that way anymore?"

He met her eyes, which were wide and alert. "No, I don't."

"What changed for you?"

He considered briefly. "You know, I can't speak for everyone—but I think for me, it was really just about finding what I was meant to do." _And I have…_

"Oh. Brilliant," she said with a huff, clearly not satisfied.

"But you can't just sit and hope that that comes to you," Light said. "If an opportunity presents itself, you have to snatch it up and be willing to put in the work. Dreams, I think, are meant to be chased after. Not waited on."

Another short silence passed between them. During that silence, Sayaka had a thoughtful expression on her face, and she nodded slowly. "Yeah… yeah, I guess you're right." She smiled, and Light found that smile to be oddly contagious. "Wise beyond your years, Light Yagami. I actually like you."

Light and Sayaka spent the next hour walking about the city, although they really just ended up going in a big circle. And as promised, Light had the girl back to her café before dark. He liked to think he was nothing if not a gentleman when it was required of him.

As they said their goodbyes for the night, he convinced her to give him her cell phone number and she took his phone and punched it in like it was nothing. But he was even more pleasantly satisfied when he saw that she added her full name to his contact list. _Sayaka Hoshigaki._ He liked it. It had a nice ring to it. But more importantly, having her name gave him power, and simply the knowledge that she willingly shared it with him was proof enough that he had nothing to fear from her. She was as clueless as the rest of them.

"Anyway, thanks for the walk," she said. "It was nice. We should do it again."

"We definitely will," Light replied softly, holding up his phone briefly. "I'll shoot you a text."

"Sounds good," she concluded before nodding lightly and disappearing inside the doors.

As soon as she was gone, Light cracked a smile and slipped his phone into his pocket. Ryuk, who had spent the evening following him around as usual (although he was starting to get the hang of ignoring him) came up beside him and let out a grunt. "Well, would you look at that? Light's made a new friend. You gonna come back here tomorrow to see her?"

Light rolled his eyes as he started walking and murmured, "I'm too busy to spend every afternoon sitting around at a café."

Ryuk snickered. "I figured you'd say something like that. I just thought maybe it'd be worth a little extra time to you. Gathering how much you like her."

"I was after her name and I got it. That's all the matters."

"Yeah. Right. I could definitely tell that's what mattered half way through the evening while you were laughing and stealing second glances at her every chance you got."

Light frowned, starting to get irritated. "I was trying to gain her trust."

"You can make all the excuses you want. I've known you long enough by now to have an idea of the difference between when you're faking it and when you're being serious."

With a sigh of disgust, he muttered, "Right. Okay. So I enjoyed her company. Like I said, it doesn't matter. We might hang out again, just because I need a little downtime, but that doesn't mean I'm going to let it distract me from my task at hand."

"I didn't say it was going to," Ryuk said. "I just didn't know you were capable of human emotions. Usually, you're kind of a cold-hearted bastard."

"And for a Shinigami, you are extremely lazy and high maintenance. Now, shut up, already. We're almost to the bus stop."

* * *

Ryuk didn't ask for much. He'd placed the whole world into the hand of Light Yagami by giving him a Death Note—crossed the barriers of time and space—taken the time to explain the Death Note and its quirks to Light before he even asked.

"I do all this nice stuff for him, and what thanks do I get? None. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. It's no different back home."

The woman sitting beside Ryuk in the very back of the bus was texting on her phone, not paying a lick of attention to what he was saying. But since he knew Light was going to ignore him anyway, he figured he might as well switch it up and blabber on to someone else.

"I mean, I know I'm not always the softest guy," he said, crossing his long arms over his chest. "But just because I'm a Shinigami doesn't mean I don't have any feelings. Don't get me wrong—I don't really care about you or Light—or anyone else on this bus for that matter. I can't afford to waste my time caring about something as fleeting as a human life. But I'm more sensitive than I look, you know."

He let out a long sigh and slouched forward. _Stuck in a rut…_

Again, he didn't ask for much. In return for letting Light play God for a while, Ryuk got to eat his fill of apples whenever he wanted, and Light promised to keep things interesting for him. They were trifles, really. Although even now, despite having spent the last several weeks here on Earth with Light, he still felt—dissatisfied. Restless.

He'd told the truth, before. Light's finding of the Death Note was an even better coincidence than he'd expected. Light was bound to lose it all in the end no matter what, but that wasn't really Ryuk's problem. Even now, Ryuk couldn't decide if he thought Light was a genius or a simpleton. He had to admire the kid for his lofty goals, but ultimately he was still just a human being. He thought he would rid the world of evil and become a God?

Foolish, naïve sentimentality.

It had all become clear to him today, while Light interacted with that human girl from the café. Whether Light realized it himself, it was the most genuine Ryuk had ever seen him act with anyone. And it proved one thing: all humans were the same. They both craved the company of those who understood them—those they felt they could identify with. Light Yagami was no exception in that regard.

And the best part was, that simple human desire had a hand in blinding him to the truth standing right in front of him. The girl from the café was not at all who she appeared to be, and Light missed it entirely.

Ryuk's lips twisted into a dark smile. _Sayaka Hoshigaki, indeed._ _Maybe I should tell him…_

No. Definitely not. It wasn't as if he was obligated to divulge any unnecessary details. And besides, where was the fun in that?

* * *

"I don't know what else to tell you, Yori. It was innocent." Sayaka slipped out of her bathrobe and held her cellphone between her ear and her shoulder as she shimmied on a pair of fuzzy pajama pants. The time on her watch was 8:47, and the sound of the TV in the background drowned out any possible discomfort of silence.

Sayaka could almost see Yori rolling her eyes on the other end of the line. "Sure. That's what everyone says at first. But come on. You really think he went out of his way today for you just because he wanted to be your friend?"

She briefly put the phone on speaker and set it down on the bed so she could throw a shirt on. "I don't know. But that's what he told me. Didn't give me a reason to think otherwise. Nothing happened."

"Well, what did you guys talk about?"

Picking her phone back up and plopping down on the bed, Sayaka shrugged. "All kinds of stuff. Just getting to know each other topics, really. Like I said—it was no big deal. Hey, you were the one who wanted to get out and make more friends, weren't you?"

"Yeah, but not with hot and potentially untrustworthy men."

"You know I'm not the type of person to just jump into anything without thinking it through. I can handle myself."

Yori didn't sound convinced. "And you've had how much experience with dating, exactly?"

Sayaka hesitated. "None—but that's not the point—"

"Look, I'm just saying you should watch out for yourself, okay?" Yori said. "I probably—sound crazy here. If you've made a new friend, that's totally great and I'm happy for you! I just want to make sure you're being safe."

"I will be," Sayaka said. "And again, _nothing_ between us. I don't even remotely see him in that way. I just—it's weird. I thought there was something off about him when we met. But today… something was different. We connected, I guess. And it was nice to be able to do that."

"Well—that's good! You should be more open with people, you know. I mean, we've all dealt with our own crap, but that doesn't mean we always have to deal with it alone."

Sayaka smiled sadly even as she replied. "Yeah, I know."

"Can I tell you something kind of personal?"

There was a short pause. "If you want to."

Yori sighed. "I actually haven't dated anyone since I was in high school." Her voice suddenly became soft and weak, which surprised Sayaka. She didn't sound nervous or uncomfortable exactly... just reflective, and perhaps a bit somber. "I met my first love during my second year. I'd dated a few guys before that, but, uh… there was this girl Erika—and we were together for a while. But when people found out we were dating, the bullying became so intense that we decided to break up. And afterward, I regretted that decision so much, because I realized it was weak and that I should have fought for her. I guess I was too afraid to just open up and be who I was. Now things are different, obviously—I've opened up a lot since then. But that's the sort of thing you don't forget—it really stays with you."

Sayaka crawled into bed and leaned back against her headrest. "You were young and still figuring stuff out—no reason to be ashamed of that. I'm sorry it cost you someone important to you, though. Sorry people can be so cruel."

Yori tsked. "That's just the way of the world, I suppose. Nowadays I try my best to make the most of it. That's why I tried to look out for you when we met! I feel like the world needs a little more kindness, you know? Anyway—all I mean by telling you this sappy stuff is, I consider you my friend and I have your back, okay? So if there's ever anything you need—anything you want to talk about—you can come to me and I will be there 100%. Got it?"

At this point Sayaka almost had tears in her eyes. Of course, she held them in so she didn't start blubbering like an idiot over the phone, but in order to speak she had to swallow hard. "Thanks," she said. "And I've totally got your back, too."

Yori laughed. "I know! Sayaka—you're a good egg. You really are. I knew it from the first time I saw you."

And for the first time in forever, Sayaka actually felt like she was a part of the world she lived in. Even if it didn't last more than one night, for once she felt her presence was truly valued—and for a meager human like her, that was the greatest gift.

* * *

 **Yeah, so... I guess the reason I wrote this chapter was not only to start really developing the relationship between Sayaka and Light, but also to add some significant character development. There isn't a whole lot of Sayaka's perspective in this chapter, but I guess in a sense it really isn't about her. This chapter is essentially about humanizing Light, particularly in connection to his new relationship with Sayaka. Obviously being such an abnormally intelligent guy with some serious narcissism, he doesn't relate to people easily. But I wanted to show in this chapter that he is capable of connecting, and that he can actually find joy in human interaction other than for manipulative purposes. I always thought in the original series that Light and L had a genuine connection in at least some sense despite being mortal enemies... but I wanted to explore the idea a little more here.**

 **As you can see, I also added a little of Ryuk's perspective, and I'm sure by now the reason is pretty obvious :) I have to say, I'm going to enjoy developing his personality a little bit as well.**

 **Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter. Let me know what you thought! See you next time!**


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